(Adnkronos) – To apply for a visa to study in the US, you must have your social media public so that they can be checked for “signs of hostility towards US citizens, culture, government, institutions and founding principles”. This is what is stated in a message that the State Department has sent to its embassies and consulates around the world, with the indication to resume visa appointments for students and other academic exchanges – F, M and J visas – blocked since May, but following these new guidelines.
In the cable, Politico reports, instructions are given to “identify any aid or support to foreign terrorists or national security threats” along with “support for anti-Semitic harassment or illegal violence”. The message is in line with the policy adopted in recent months by the Trump administration, which is accusing major American universities, Columbia and Harvard in the lead, of having supported the protests against the war in Gaza, claiming that they are anti-Semitic demonstrations and in support of Hamas.
Explicitly, the State Department instructs consular offices to highlight “visa applicants who have a history of political activism” to assess “the possibility that they will continue this activity in the United States”. The checks will have to be carried out both for students applying for a visa for the first time and for those returning to the US after the summer break. Consular officials are asked to take “detailed notes” on the “online presence” of visa applicants, including “screenshots to counter any subsequent alterations”.
